This Friday, June 3, at Trevor Lucero Studio (500 Second Street SW), Jennifer Burkley unveils her "Tylenol Room," an ambitious art installation constructed from more than half a million pills. Trippy! Burkley says the work is a meditation on loss and survival. Check it out at the reception from 5 to 8 p.m. 244-0730.

Inspirados at the National Hispanic Cultural Center

By Steven Robert Allen

Questions about the inspiration behind art are as old as art itself. It isn't hard to imagine some furry, thick-browed critic dressed in animal skins standing at the elbow of a cave painter in France 20,000 years ago pestering the artist with stupid questions: Why did you paint a horse there instead of a bird? Why does that bison look like it's staring at me?

Vortex Theatre

By Steven Robert Allen

The Road Trip Plays: Out/In America is a series of six connected mini-plays by local playwright Lou Clark. This campy comedy follows Drew and her best friend, Bill, on a wild crosscountry adventure during which our heroine questions and finally embraces her sexuality. Directed by Jessica Barkl, The Road Trip Plays runs Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 6 p.m. through June 26 at the Vortex Theatre. $10 general, $8 students/seniors/everyone on Sundays. Call 247-8600 to reserve tickets.

Blue Blood

In the months after Sept. 11, 2001, New York City bestowed upon its police officers a rush of gratitude so immense that, during its apex, cops were more respected than celebrities. That period is long gone. Grieving flower bouquets have wilted, law enforcement budgets have been cut and—except when terrorism alert levels are raised—police are back to being simply part of the city's urban background, more noticeable in high-crime areas, as vaguely appreciated as street lamps in others.

There isn't a single place on the planet where water isn't important, but here in the desert it's our lifeblood. Wetlands in our region of the country are cauldrons of fertility. In his new book, photographer and naturalist Lucian Niemeyer documents areas as diverse as Mexico's Cuatro Cienegas Basin, Arizona's San Pedro River, Utah's Escalante River, Texas' Big Bend National Park and New Mexico's own Bosque del Apache. In the process, Desert Wetlands celebrates the value and necessity of moisture in our dry-as-dust pocket of the world. Niemeyer will make an appearance on Thursday, June 23, at 7 p.m. at Page One Books (11018 Montgomery NE, 294-2026) to sign and discuss this fascinating book.